2024 Resolution Wines Pinot Noir Fort Ross-Seaview 750 ml

What Russian River was two decades ago, Fort Ross–Seaview is today.

The appellation, which sits just miles from the Pacific on the “True” Sonoma Coast, was made famous by coastal Pinot Noir pioneers like Marcassin and Hirsch. These days, it’s also known for the 98–100pt Pinots from the likes of RAEN, Boar’s View (Schrader), and Wayfarer (Pahlmeyer)—and you can bet it’s getting mighty tough to find a deal. 

Wine Spectator hailed Fort Ross–Seaview as “Pinot’s Magical Kingdom,” calling it “one of the most unique wine districts in the world.” It’s still wild—only 2% of its total acreage is planted to vines—and full of tricky, steep pitches and dense forests.

As you can imagine, you can’t just cold-call a vineyard in the AVA and expect to get prime grapes. You gotta know someone. And the winemaker behind this gem knows everyone and their vineyard manager. A Sonoma County ace with a deep and wide Rolodex, he’s been working in the area for 15 years or so, he’s high on a bunch of growers’ call lists—and you can bet he was glad to have answered the fateful call last fall. 

“I know you guys probably want all the tech info on this badboy, and I’ll give it to you—but the first thing I’ll say is that I enjoyed the hell out of making this wine. It was a freaking blast. I mean, you just don’t get grapes like this every day, let alone at a good price. I was playing with house money from the start.” 

The steep vineyard source for this wine is planted with Pommard, 777, and Calera clones of Pinot Noir. Our friend vinified the wine on 20% whole clusters, aging it in 25% new French oak for 9 months before bottling.